westernrvparkowner wrote: And as far as I know, paying a certain amount in taxes doesn't get you additional government benefits. If that was the case, why doesn't the government keep a running total of what each individual paid in taxes and when you reach certain thresholds you get to ask the government for special treatment. Say, once you have paid a total of $100,000 over your lifetime, the highway department plows your driveway for $5.00. $500,000 gets you $25.00 plane tickets from the Air Force and on and on.

I like the way you think. I'm going now to gather my old tax returns to see if I qualify for getting my lawn mowed for $1.00.

K_and_I
2011 Rockwood 2604
Nights Camped in 2019: 85
Do we have time for shortcuts?

Note: I am a morbid skeptic! I'm a conspiracist. I still think our own gov't was responsible for JFK's assassination and they are covering up alien and UFO technology.

Is that the same government that can't keep a phone call private? The same government leaders that couldn't destroy the Whitehouse tapes during Watergate? We are to believe that 100s of people were recruited assassinate the president (Dallas Police investigators, the FBI, the Warren Commission, the Autopsy Team, the assassins, Oswald, the trauma team at Parkland Hospital, the secret service, the House select committee on assassinations, as well as any witnesses), and not one ever said "Nope, I think I will pass and expose the plot and be a true patriot."
Is that the same alien technology that allows those aliens to traverse the universe only to crash when they reach a minor planet that orbits a minor sun located in the outer reaches of the Milky way? Though I must admit the technology that forces those crashes only to occur in the cornfields of backwater towns and only to be discovered by someone with two teeth and a Jethro Bodine education and never in the presence of anyone with a camera is pretty impressive.

I've always thought the Senior or Access Pass system was a bit weird. The standard passes provides free day access to the parks. So then they offer the (previously) highly discounted Senior/Military passes for those specific groups as an incentive. But they don't stop there. They then add on an additional half off camping benefit, etc. Most other places that offer access passes set them all up to include the same benefits - you just pay less for the pass as a senior.

And remember, the camping discount isn't $15 instead of $25 per night. It's $12.50 instead of $25 per night. That's an additional $2.50 per person per night over the above impact calculation.

My opinion on this is that the senior discount is way above most any other senior discount out there. Free day access AND 50 percent off camping. Most are between 10 and 20 percent off. As more baby boomers continue to hit 62 years old, this is going to severely cut into funding for the parks. Changing it makes sense. As an Xer, I would love to get this current discount, but it doesn't make economical sense to continue it.

As a camper, I have looked into the regular pass. For the high price, it does not make sense at all. I gain no benefit by buying the pass as long as I'm camping.

I would like to see a change something like this:

$100 per year for the regular pass. It will include a 20 percent discount on camping and 50 percent discount on day access fees. Rather than free day access. Twenty camping nights at $25 sites or twenty day accesses at $10 regular fees will pay for the pass.

$50 per year for the senior pass. It will include the same 20 percent discount on camping and 50 percent discount on day access. Ten camping nights or ten day accesses will pay for the pass.

$50 per 10 years for the disabled pass. This would be much lower because of the more limited access to all of the national parks, etc., for disabled folks.

$50 flat for active duty military personnel. Once they are no longer active, it will change to $50 per year. Catch: the military personnel must be in attendance in order to use the pass.

1975 American Clipper RV with Dodge 360 (photo in profile)
1998 American Clipper Fold n Roll Folding Trailer
Both born in Morgan Hill, CA to Irv Perch (Daddy of the Aristocrat trailers)

A parks user that is very strongly represented, but the fees are never mentioned are the "tours".
Through the summer months huge numbers of foreign visitors are in groups using the parks, does anyone know how much the Park Service gets for each of those visitors?
I could see there being some small discount offered compared to the individual entrance fees, but I would be willing to bet that these groups receive an extreme discount. The fee structure listed on the website states $35 for a vehicle. For 7 days, If the buses are being charged at this rate, it's ridiculous. Does anyone know how this is approached?

Edit add, found it. Bus tours pay a $300 annual fee and an additional per person fee which for Grand Canyon as an example, is the per person fee of $20 with a $5 discount offered as recovery of the $300 annual fee.
So the Parks are being compensated for those visitors.

wa8yxm wrote:I am afraid my comments would be political if I posted my full thoughts.

We who are seniors have EARNED our discounts by decades of paying taxes.
Congress types who feel we do not deserve them.. Need replacement.

Except, as WRVPO mentioned, there is no proof of taxes paid to get the discount. Anyone who is of age can get the discount. Which means a person who lived their entire life in another country, without ever having paid U.S. taxes, can move to the U.S. at age 65 and get that same discount that you "earned".

No one has earned the discount. It is a consideration given for a particular reason. That reason, like most all senior discounts, is to get seniors to spend more money. If they give you a camping discount, they are doing so to get you to pay for tours, souvenirs, activities, etc. They will make more money selling you overpriced thimbles, magnets, etc., then they will on campsites.

Before I was 62, I always bought the America the Beautiful pass. For $80, I could get into any national park and many state parks that accepted federal money. While on vacation, we usually saved at least twice our purchase price.

As a senior citizen, I will not complain about paying full price for camping in the national parks. It is still a bargain. Will I continue to get the discount as long as it is available, darned right I will. By the way, we usually throw a couple of bucks in the donation containers at every park we stop at.